Daimanazuru Kenji (born January 16, 1977 as Kenji Omae) is a former

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler from Kawakami,

Yoshino District is a Districts of Japan, district located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. In 2020, the district had an estimated population of 37,086 and a population density, density of 18.05 persons per km2. The total area is 2,055 km2. On September 25, 2005, th ...

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. He began his professional career in 1992, and spent a total of 19 tournaments in the top two divisions, peaking at '' maegashira'' 16 in 2006. He retired at the end of the January 2010 tournament and has chosen to work outside of the Sumo Association.

Career

He made his professional debut in May 1992, joining Asahiyama stable, then run by the former wrestler Wakafutase. In 1997 his stablemaster died suddenly and for the remainder of his career he was coached by former ''

ozeki Ozeki or Ōzeki may refer to: * Ōzeki, a rank in ''Makuuchi'', the top division of professional sumo ** List of ōzeki * Ōzeki station (disambiguation), the name of two railway stations in Japan * Ōzeki Masutoshi (1849–1905), 16th daimyō o ...

'' Daiju. He initially fought under his own surname of Omae, before adopting the '' shikona'' of Futasewaka in 1994. He switched to his familiar name of Daimanazuru at the beginning of 2000. He reached '' sekitori'' status in November 2003, after more than eleven years in the unsalaried divisions, by winning the '' makushita'' tournament championship or '' yusho'' with a perfect 7-0 record. He was the first wrestler from Asahiyama stable to be promoted to ''jūryō'' since the new head coach took over in 1997. He made his ''jūryō'' debut alongside future '' yokozuna'' Hakuho. After two losing scores in January and March 2004 he slipped back to ''makushita'', but he returned to ''jūryō'' in January 2005. He made steady progress, rising slowly up the ''jūryō'' division with a succession of 8-7 scores, which was enough to earn him promotion to the top '' makuuchi'' division for the July 2006 tournament. It had taken him 85 tournaments to reach ''makuuchi'' from his professional debut, the seventh slowest ever. However, his single tournament there saw him win only two bouts, against veterans Buyuzan and

Tochisakae Tochisakae Atsushi (born June 27, 1974 as Atsushi Okamoto) is a former sumo wrestler from Saga Prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1993, reaching the top division for the first time in 2000. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 1. ...

, and he was demoted straight back to ''jūryō''. In September 2007 he suffered an eye injury and had to withdraw on the 4th day, resulting in demotion back to the unsalaried ''makushita'' division. By July 2008 he had fallen to ''Makushita'' 26, the same rung on the ladder as fellow former top division wrestler Takahama. He scored six wins against one loss in that tournament however, and took part in an eight-way playoff for the '' makushita'' championship. He missed out on his third title, eliminated in the semifinal stage by Yamamotoyama. Restricted by a nagging shoulder injury, a series of mediocre performances after that saw him fall to ''Makushita'' 54 for the January 2010 basho, his lowest rank since entering the ''makushita'' division at the end of 1997. Despite recording 4 wins against 3 losses, he announced his retirement after the tournament at the age of 33. He did not fight in enough ''sekitori'' tournaments to qualify for a '' toshiyori'' (elder) position, and left the sumo world to work in a

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based firm.

Fighting style

Daimanazuru had a straightforward fighting style, with around 70% of his wins being either ''

yorikiri ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...

'' (force out) or ''

oshidashi ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...

'' (push out). He preferred a ''migi-yotsu'' grip on the '' mawashi'', with his left hand outside and right hand inside his opponent's arms.

Family

He announced his engagement in May 2006.

Career record

References

External links